Starting Over
by haterhaterhater
Summary: Sunako runs away in order to avoid moving to England and being subject to becoming a "full-fledged lady." What happens years later when Sunako is asked to take in her friends' children and teach them what it really means to live? (Currently undergoing revisions).
1. Prologue One : Running away

Sunako's emotions ran deep as she glared at the mirror that sat in front of her. She was once again in her sweat pants and Hanes t-shirt. She hadn't worn anything of the sort for months.

She clenched her fist as she turned around and eyed the luggage behind her, waiting to be carried into Auntie's limo; waiting to sit in her new house in London. After months of being a "full-fledged lady" she had been found out. The servants stumbled upon her secret room in the attic that she used to hide all of her "things." And now Aunty was dragging her to Great Britain to drink tea and date the prime minister's youngest son.

_That'll happen when hell freezes over_.

She had been careless. She had started to pretend to be a lady on her own. And now, she was reaping the consequences. But her Aunt's resolve wouldn't make her any less determined to live how she wanted to live.

Sunako had decided two weeks ago. She decided to leave all of her friends and her Aunt behind. If she couldn't coexist with her Aunt while being herself, then they simply couldn't stay in the same place any longer. She would back away and give her Aunt some time to mull life over, and whether or not she wanted Sunako in it.

She was angry, annoyed, upset. Everything she hasn't _seriously_ been since** that day **when her life took a turn for the worst. She, herself, had been happy with her change in demeanor and clothes. But the people and the situations that came with her own personal metamorphosis made her want to hide. It didn't make her want to "break out of her shell," as Ranmaru put it.

Sunako would never give in to it all. These friends of hers, and her own Aunt, had problems of their own. And in order to avoid dealing with their personal faults, they turned to her and tried to focus on her problems instead. This annoyed Sunako the most.

At least that's what she was telling herself. In truth, her friends stopped badgering her long ago, accepting towards all that she was despite the raw ugliness of it all. It was her Aunt who incessantly bothered her and made her ashamed…ashamed of who she was.

But acting like her friends were also hateful would make it easier to leave them.

Sunako shuffled towards the window and looked down at the ground. Her eyes hardened as she looked at the duffle bag that she had secretly packed and placed there for when she would run. She closed the window and locked it, her heart wrenching.

Sunako walked out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen, _her_ kitchen. This would be the last time she cooked in her favorite sanctuary of all. This would be the last meal all of her house-mates, Noi, Tamao, Aunty, and Machiko would eat that was made by her. This truly was goodbye.

She bit back the tears as she tied up her long black hair and started cooking.

Sunako ate dinner as slowly as possible. When she finished, Yuki and Noi cried their eyes out, just as depressed by her departure. Takenaga looked a little upset, but he was doing a good job of hiding the emotions that made him bite his lip and squeeze Noi's hand. Ranmaru wouldn't touch his food as Tamao massaged his fingers. And Kyouhei had been missing for quite some time.

His presence had been scarce since her Aunt told everyone. He disappeared right after the announcement. Sunako sighed as his face filled her raging thoughts. She made fried shrimp as a thank you for all of the fun times, or when he opened her eyes and helped her to see reality every once and a while, and for just for being there…for being her best friend.

She bit back her tears for the second time. Only that radiant creature was able to solicit such reactions from her, such emotions, and such turmoil.

Sunako left the kitchen as all of her friends said goodbye for the last time, and walked back up the stairs. She stopped at her door, the tears immediately poured down her cheeks. She dried her eyes and opened the door to the room she had grown so attached to. She gasped.

"Kyouhei?" She said aloud.

He turned around with the saddest eyes she had ever seen grace his radiantly beautiful face.

That's right. At this moment he wasn't annoying or someone living in a world different than hers, he was her beautiful best friend. Her breath escaped her as her tears intensified. Her vision blurred.

"Nakahara, I just wanted to say goodbye before… before I wouldn't have the chance to anymore…" He said quietly.

She nodded as she wiped her eyes. She figured that in this moment, and this moment only, she probably looked like a beautiful lady.

She waited for him continue, knowing that it had always been hard for Kyouhei to swallow his pride and say what he really meant. It must've taken all of his courage to even go into her room, let alone to wait for her.

Sunako felt her eyes tear up again, she had to say something, "I made you a lot of Fried Shrimp…as a thank you for everything. I really want you to enjoy it," she said. She had never been so heart-felt when making something for him until that night. She had never felt so kind towards him. She had never appreciated him so much.

Maybe the thought of leaving him for what seemed to be forever made her swallow her own pride.

Kyouhei smiled softly and slowly walked towards her. Sunako didn't move, this was the last time she could ever do anything with her stubborn house-mate. She would let him do as he pleased.

He hugged her, his arms felt tight around her, the pressure almost hurt. But she wouldn't complain. His warmth was intoxicating. He kissed her cheek, his eyes shut. She shut her eyes as well. She smiled as he released, and in return kissed his forehead.

Her nose felt normal as her newfound boldness allowed her to look him in the eye longer than three seconds. His cheeks were red but his eyes were far from shy.

He was still the experienced man that she had come to know and treasure.

"Take care of yourself, Kyouhei," she whispered before releasing completely. Chills went up his spine as his name left her lips for the first time. He wasn't used to hearing it come out of her mouth. He embraced her small but strong frame one last time before forcing himself to leave.

Sunako stared at his back as he walked out of her door…out of her life.

She grabbed her plane ticket off of the nightstand and hugged and kissed her mannequins, which she had hidden under her bed once they had been discovered, goodbye. She could never sneak away with them in her arms, she would be caught.

_Sunako took one last look at her room, a look of indifference on her face._

_Goodbye, __she thought before jumping to the ground, grabbing her duffle bag, and hopping into the taxi cab waiting to escort her to the airport._


	2. Prologue Two : Coming back

DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Wallflower/Perfect Girl Evolution.

Noi was panicking. It was her wonderful wedding day and Sunako still had yet to show up. Noi paced around the small room she was waiting for the wedding to start in. Not knowing what to do.

Of course she was happy, no, ecstatic really. But her beloved best friend wasn't there. Noi wasn't trying to be selfish, but Sunako had been missing for almost two years now. She and the rest of the old gang didn't know anything when it came to her safety or how she was, until her artworks and pictures first came out. Even with her brilliance and her rising fame they still had little to go on concerning their well missed gothic friend.

"She's not here, why isn't she here?" She mumbled as she paced back and forth. Her dress making soft "swish" sounds as she did so.

"Noi, it's alright. You know how Sunako is, she left three and a half years ago intending to never come back or communicate with us. If she does come, she had to remind herself of how much she loves you as a friend," Tamao said, trying to comfort the flustered bride.

"I know, but why did she leave in the first place? I mean, I know _why_. It just isn't good enough anymore," she stated. Noi had always wanted an answer that didn't hurt as much as the harsh truth always had.

She left because she felt boxed in.

"She left because her Aunt was trying to abolish everything she was. Sunako was already stubborn to begin with, Oba-san's new plans at the time were probably the last straw. I don't think she meant to hurt anyone, but Sunako knew that her rebelliousness would be _nothing_ compared to her Aunt's money and power. Any thought of refusing the 'road to womanhood' once in London would've been destroyed. It was the only way, the only route to her individual happiness that didn't have any bumps on it. I'll admit that it was reckless and should have been thought about more carefully. But it's what she decided to do and all we can do is respect her decision." Machiko added.

Noi sighed in defeat, Machiko was so political at times. So hard to argue with especially if you were being unreasonable. Noi rubbed her stomach softly and sighed as she felt two muffled kicks that filled her with warmth, "If only you could see me now, Sunako."

Takenaga was almost just as flustered and upset as Noi, but not for the same reason.

"Calm down Takenaga. It isn't good to be nervous on your wedding day," Ranmaru said as he twirled around and roses accented his sensual dance.

"I'm not nervous! I'm just worried about Noi, she's upset because Sunako isn't here. How can I be happily going about, laughing along with my friends, when my Noi-chi is depressed?" He asked while plopping into a nearby chair.

"Whipped," Ranmaru whispered to Yuki, making the incredibly cute boy laugh.

Kyouhei rolled his eyes:

"She's still upset about that?" Kyouhei rudely asked, "The girl is having a hissy fit. I don't think we should go crazy_ just _because she isn't here. We should do the opposite and make her feel guilty," Kyouhei said.

He would never admit that her absence and sudden disappearance affected him more than it did everyone else. And his need to hug and embrace her was stronger than his bitterness.

"That isn't fair, Kyouhei. Sunako could've left us long before she did, she had reason to do so. But she didn't, instead, she took care of us and dealt with our crazy antics," Yuki stated.

"Well, she could show a little love by coming here today…"He mumbled.

Takenaga snorted, "Kyouhei, even you wouldn't have shown up if it wasn't for me asking you to be my best-man," he countered.

Kyouhei glared at his longtime friend. Angry because he was right once again. "Whatever," he mumbled.

The priest had gotten through most of his speech when he happily turned to the pretty and pregnant bride: "And do you, Noi Kasahara, take Takenaga Oda to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Noi's face seemed to glow as she took in a deep breath: "I-"

Just as the fateful phrase was about to escape from the red-head's mouth, several young men in the audience stood abruptly; causing the pews to make loud noises from the force. Several whispers and gasps filled the air as Noi glared at the men who was making it take "that" much longer for her hot honey moon with Takenaga to start.

"You aren't worthy of her, Takenaga-san! How dare you presume that you can take her away from us!" One young man screamed while accusingly pointing at the intellectual.

"Us" being her obsessive fan club.

Several "Yeahs" and "That's rights" could be heard among the others who helped staged this Coup de tat.

The boy who yelled angrily began to walk towards the altar, until he fell flat on his face. A woman's creamy leg was jutting out into the space between the friends of the groom and the friends of the bride. It wasn't long before the crowd realized that he had been tripped.

A woman in a flowing purple dress with a sweetheart neck line stood. Her white high heels clacked against the stone floor of the church as she roughly grabbed the boy's arm and stood him up. Her hair was curly as it covered her entire back. Her glossy pink lips frowning and her purple eyes glaring.

"How dare you think that you're more worthy than he is," the woman said.

She sat down and forced the boy to sit next to her as the others in the back quickly sat down, aware of the dark aura she was giving off as she pinched the young man's leg.

The preacher coughed and continued as things finally settled down.

Noi looked away from the strangely familiar woman and finally said, "I do." The Preacher announced them Husband and Wife and they kissed, everyone stood up and clapped.

During the reception, Noi couldn't help but stare at the woman who had saved her wedding. Once the ceremony had finished, the young man and all of his friends had been arrested for causing a public disturbance.

"Why don't you thank her, sweetie?" Takenaga suggested as he kissed her temple. Noi giggled before gracefully rising from her seat and walking up to the woman who coincidentally matched her wedding's colors.

"Excuse me?"

The woman turned around and smiled at the bride who breathed a sigh of relief at her friendly expression: "I just wanted to thank you, um?"

"Sunako, Sunako Nakahara," the woman stated.

Noi froze. Kyouhei, who had been eating most of the buffet, felt his heart stop. He gulped as he looked at the beautiful woman closely; slowly seeing the similarities and the familiarity of her face.

"Sunako-chan?"

Sunako nodded and Noi pounced. She practically strangled her prodigal friend as tears started to flow: "You came! You really came! You were there the whole time. I'm so happy!" She yelled.

Kyouhei ran over to them, the others following close behind.

"Sunako?" Yuki asked as waterfall tears cascaded down his cheeks.

"Yes? Yuki stop crying, it's why people think you're a chick," she said.

Yuki glomped onto her, squeezing her almost just as tightly as Noi, "it's definitely Sunako-Chan!" He yelled while laughing.

Yuki let go as Ranmaru tackled her. Takenaga did the same.

Finally, it was Kyouhei's turn.

"Oi! Where have you been Nakahara?" He asked. He was smirking as he rolled up his sleeves, his tux jacket had already been discarded. He was ready to get down and wrestle his honey.

He charged at her, but before he could trap her with one of his death grips, she stopped him by putting up her hand. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek before wrapping her arms around his neck.

He grinned. "Good to have you back, Sunako."

"Good to be back."


	3. Chapter One : Meeting Sunako

DISCLAIMER: I do **_not_** own the Wallflower/ Perfect Girl Evolution.

Yuki sighed. Today was the day, the day that they sent their demon of a daughter away to be tamed by Sunako. The rest of the old roommates were sending their children away, too. Their kids didn't expect a thing because they had never seen Sunako before. Although Sunako constantly visited it was usually only for a couple of hours when the kids weren't there.

Sunako had gone back to Hokkaido right after Noi's wedding, so the old gang asked her to take in their children over summer break. It was pretty scary, observing your kids and seeing that they didn't know a thing about life.

Yuki remembered the conversation that led them to sending their kids away in the first place:

"_What are we going to do about Seiji and Keiko? Seiji acts like the cold Oda. The Oda who was bound by tradition. And Keiko…she's been dating older men and acting so hateful," Noi whined as Takenaga held his wife's hand._

_Yuki sighed, "Etsu acts like Machiko's father. Critical and just plain _mean_." He said as waterfall tears cascaded down his cheeks._

"_Hey!"_

"_Sorry honey, but she didn't get that spite from my side of the family. She didn't get it from you or your mother, either," Yuki said to his wife, Machiko. She sighed before dejectedly agreeing; remembering how rude her father was when he first met Yuki._

_Ranmaru sighed as Tamao looked at her husband and then her friends with sad eyes, "Uhei is such a player." _

_Ranmaru laughed nervously, "He reminds me of myself before I met my love, Tamao."_

_Takenaga snapped his fingers: "That's it. Our children are like us, only the version of us that never lived together or met one another."_

"_What are you getting at, Takenaga?" Ranmaru asked._

"_Sunako has a big empty house. Plus, she was the one who basically ignited the drastic changes in each of our lives. I didn't start dating Noi until _after_ I met her. Tamao would have never survived the 'early' Ranmaru without Noi, and Yuki became more of a man after living with someone as scary and unpredictable as she was." Takenaga explained._

_Yuki pouted at the last line as Machiko nodded, solemnly agreeing._

"_Sunako-chan also helped us become less selfish. Because she was always willing to help us no matter what, we matured," Noi added with a smile._

"_That, too."_

"_So…" Ranmaru started, liking where the conversation was going._

_Takenaga smirked, "We send them to Sunako's house in Hokkaido over the summer. They'll never be the same again."_

Yuki smiled happily. It was a win-win. Therapy would be provided by their good friend Sunako, and he could have "hot married sex" for three entire months with Machiko. Yuki giggled just thinking about it.

Yuki was still shocked at Sunako's eagerness to tame the "little beasts" as Kyouhei called them. Takenaga sent her videos of their kids acting out, to make sure she understood the, "heaviness of the task that they required of her." But when she saw the recordings, she sounded surer than when she had first accepted the challenge. It scared but pleased them.

Of course they haven't told their kids that, after driving to the park and hanging out for a couple of hours, they'll be boarding a plane with a woman they've only heard of. And their "precious" summer will be spent with her.

_Good riddance_.

The excited parents had secretly packed their children's things the night before and hid them in their trunks. Today they would be set free, today they would be relaxed and able to act thirty-three again. Today would be a _great_ day.

"What are you two smiling about?" Yuki's daughter rudely asked.

Etsu Toyhama; age: 14; Yuki and Machiko Toyhama's daughter.

"None of your bees wax," Machiko snapped. Machiko had very little patience, and their daughter knew exactly what to say to make it run out.

"Just because you're my parents doesn't mean I'll ever care about your feelings," she hissed from the back seat. Her arms crossed and her eyes burning passionately.

Yuki and Machiko's veins popped. Yuki sighed, "I wish you would use your passion constructively instead of bottling it in and lashing out at your innocent parents."

Etsu glared at the floor, but didn't utter another word.

They pulled into the park's parking lot and got out of the car. Etsu ran to her long time child-hood friends who were hanging around the swing set. Luckily the park was empty.

"Hey Keiko, Seiji, and Uhei!" Etsu greeted.

Seiji Oda; age: 14; son of Takenaga and Noi Oda.

Keiko Oda; age: 14; daughter of Takenaga and Noi Oda; twin sister of Seiji.

Uhei Morii; age: 14; son of Ranmaru and Tamao Morii.

"Sup," Uhei said.

Keiko smiled and hugged Etsu while Seiji nodded, acknowledging her presence.

"I can't believe my parents! They are so annoying!" Etsu loudly exclaimed before she relayed to Keiko the events that had recently transpired during the car ride to the park.

"Oh I know! So stupid," Keiko said in agreement.

A few moments of silence lapsed. Uhei, who was beginning to feel awkward, spoke up:

"I heard that Kyouhei's coming," Uhei stated while picking dirt from his finger nails. He was trying his best to look nonchalant and indifferent. But Seiji knew better. Uhei simply wanted to get rid of the uncomfortable silence.

The girls blushed while squealing with delight. Seiji covered his ears, scowling.

"Keep it down will you? This isn't the time to imitate farm animals," a smirk played at his chapped lips, aware of the daggers that Keiko and Etsu were currently pointing at him.

Uhei chuckled, "it's kind of gross, too. Two underdeveloped teenagers _dreaming_ about a man in his thirties," he stated, earning a look of approval from Seiji.

This is why these four children are being sent to "boot camp" A.K.A. Sunako's house.

Seiji is cruel yet smart. He says things that are true and harsh at the same time; making your self-esteem level drop to about zero. He does it to everyone. He's also too engrossed in himself to notice the feelings of those around him and often crushes other's spirits. Much like Takenaga did _before_ he moved into the mansion.

Keiko is popular and prettier than Noi was at the age of fourteen. This is a dangerous combination. The bad thing about it is that she's secretly been dating older guys. This in turn makes girls wary of her; thus resulting in a lack of female companions, intensifying her desire to be doted upon by love-sick guys.

Uhei is a nice and composed boy. _Until_ he's around girls that he's interested in. When he is, he becomes sarcastic and Ranmaru's old and ignorant version of "charming." But that's not his true personality. Plus he's disrespectful to girls that he deems "ugly."

And last but not least, Etsu. She's very disrespectful and saucy-mouthed towards adults, especially her parents. She has no respect for anyone over 22. She believes that only the young and beautiful deserve "kindness."

The kids continued to talk about useless things and make fast forgotten jokes as a car pulling into the park came into view. The girls smiled broadly, recognizing the car to be Kyouhei's almost immediately.

Uhei and Seiji scowled.

Kyouhei drove up and parked his car; he could feel Etsu and Keiko's stares, fully aware of their infatuation with him. He sighed.

Sunako smirked at him: "What's with the stares?" She asked, glancing at the pre-teens on the swings.

He sighed again, "It really is a pain to have the kids of your best friends obsess over you. I remember babysitting them and changing their diapers. They're like daughters to me," he explained.

Sunako rubbed his arm in order to encourage him. Kyouhei smirked at her as he tried his best to control himself and_ not_ kiss the life out of his favorite girl.

_She's not ready for that_.

He took off his seatbelt and got out. Sunako followed suit with a smile.

Keiko and Etsu stared at Kyouhei's car ferociously; there was someone in the passenger's seat. It was obviously a woman. Their blood boiled as a green poison pooled in their eyes.

_I've never been alone with Kyouhei before_.

They continued to stare, unable to make out who it was because of the sunlight. But what emerged was a beautiful, gorgeous, tall, fair-skinned, and sexy woman. She had alluring purple eyes and a beautiful face.

Kyouhei and the mysterious woman strode awfully close to one another towards the lunch tables. The kids left the swings and ran over to their parents, who were waiting with broad smiles and dreamy eyes. Almost as if an obvious fact hung in the air, never to be spoken aloud until the right moment.

Uhei looked at the two adults with impressed eyes, _they look good together._

The woman smiled as she and Kyouhei finally made it to the lunch area. Seiji and Uhei blushed ferociously, captivated by the thirty-something beauty that stood before them.

"Hello, I'm Sunako Nakahara," her voice rang. The boys sighed. Kyouhei's eyes laid on the woman softly and gently.

Keiko glared mercilessly at Sunako. She coughed, "I've heard of you, Sunako-san. You were my parents' housemate in high school, correct?" She asked.

Sunako nodded, "I was basically the maid."

Etsu crossed her arms critically as she sized up the woman before her: "What 'services' did you provide, exactly?" Her provocative tone made Noi cough.

Yuki smacked his head on the table while Machiko spit out her drink, both glared at their daughter.

Sunako smirked: "Don't you know? I did some dirty things for them. It was a fun couple of years for us."

_It isn't a total lie_. Sunako thought as flashes of sex-old underwear and a moldy bathtub penetrated her mind.

The kids smirked before Kyouhei cracked up, revealing the falsehood of her response: "She cooked all of our meals, cleaned the house, and did the laundry," he explained while clutching his stomach.

Sunako began to laugh too as she watched Kyouhei try to compose himself.

Tamao smiled, "That's right. Her food was so good that any bentos offered to them by other girls simply weren't acceptable. But, Ranmaru did force himself to try my horrible cooking once. I really believed that it was good until I tasted it myself and heard him wrenching in the bathroom," she explained with pink cheeks.

Ranmaru smirked before kissing her hand: "I just wanted to make you happy, my love."

Tamao blushed as cute little flowers appeared around her, her affection for her husband showing on her face and dancing around her in the air.

Uhei silently gagged while pointing at his mouth, Keiko giggled at his antics.

But Keiko's laugh and Uhei's jokes were immediately squashed and destroyed by Sunako's next statement: "Wow, you guys weren't kidding when you showed me those videos."

Seiji narrowed his brown eyes at his parents: "What videos?"

Sunako winked at their parents before turning to the suspicious teenage boy, "They still like to keep secrets until the last minute, huh?"

Seiji felt his cheeks flush as anger began to boil within him. He was already catching on as his parents paled and looked at Sunako anxiously. He had seen his father put a suit case in their trunk earlier that morning when he was out for a walk; assuming that it was work related.

He stomped over to his mother's purse despite her protests and snatched her keys. He growled before running over to his parent's car and opening the trunk.

"_Wow, intense isn't he?"_

Seiji ripped open the suitcase, seeing what he already figured would be inside. His own clothes.

He slammed the trunk shut before sighing and running a hand through his cherry red hair. He walked back to his parents and threw his mother's keys onto the table: "Why are you here again, Sunako-san?"

Noi and Takenaga sighed, "He gets that scary intelligence from you, you know," Noi whispered.

Takenaga scoffed, "Well, his drama most certainly came from-"

Seiji punched the table, silencing his parents, "I asked you a question-"

Sunako grabbed his wrist and twisted it. Seiji yelped as his knees gave out and several gasps resounded.

"That's no way to talk to me," she muttered darkly.

She shoved him onto the ground. He rubbed his wrist, terrified for the first time in his life.

She smirked at the scared boy before her, "For the next three months, you, your sister, Uhei, and Etsu will be living in my home," she answered.

"What?" Etsu and Keiko screeched, their eyes bulging and their mouths open.


	4. Chapter Two: Why?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Wallflower/ Perfect Girl Evolution. Trust me, if I did, Sunako wouldn't have nose bleeds so often.

_She smirked at the scared boy before her, "For the next three months, you, your sister, Uhei, and Etsu will be living in my home," she answered. _

"_What?" Etsu and Keiko screeched._

Sunako ate quietly as a tense silence engulfed the old group of friends and their pissed off kids. The little twerps were glaring mercilessly at either her or the ground, too peeved to look at their "traitors" A.K.A. their _parents_.

She sighed happily, hoping to make them even angrier by appearing to be content with all that had just transpired. Sunako gawked at her own desire to piss off a bunch of teenagers-_kids_. She figured that, after being forced into many uncomfortable situations by her friends in the past, she had turned into somewhat of a sadist herself. Kyouhei being just as easily entertained by the anger of others, too.

_We've always been similar_. She thought as she glanced at her best friend out of the corner of her eyes. _Except in looks, Lord he's sexy._

Keiko ate her food violently, she had already managed to decimate three plastic forks as she repeatedly _stabbed_ her Caesar salad. She mumbled as she tossed another into the trash and angrily grabbed the fourth fork.

Etsu was spelling curse words with lettuce leaves. Taking the time to delicately break off small pieces of her salad and spell very colorful words. Yuki's lips quivered as he continued to eat, phrases like: _F***ers_ and _Stupid_ _B****es_ coming into view.

Uhei and Seiji were sitting next to one another a few tables away from the rest of them-Etsu and Keiko were probably sitting with the adults in order to keep close to their beloved _Kyouhei_-They were both listening to angry music. Uhei was listening to what sounded like angry rap and Seiji's ear buds gave off sounds similar to hard rock.

Sunako giggled. Kyouhei gave her a knowing look, _definitely a sadist_. Memories of her poking his wounds just so more blood would flow from his heavily injured body flooded his mind. He shuddered, a little grossed out and a little turned on.

_I've got issues_.

Takenaga, who had already finished his bento (made by Sunako), cleared his throat: "Seiji, Uhei, please come sit with us. You haven't heard it all," he called.

Seiji scoffed and Uhei immediately walked back. He was the best at remaining polite despite his seething anger, Sunako noted. The two teenage boys slowly and angrily stalked back to the lunch table that was littered with adults. Uhei sat next to Keiko and Seiji next to Etsu. Both of them relaxed a little as they found themselves in close proximity with females.

_God, I love estrogen_.

Sunako raised a brow: "What are you talking about, Takenaga?"

Noi smirked and Sunako felt goose bumps travel up and down her spine. That dark look from her earlier teenage years took over her pretty face: "And what the (beep) are you smirking about?" She growled.

This only made Noi giggle. Takenaga held in his laughter as well. Ranmaru burst out laughing before calming down and explaining: "Well, Kyouhei is the CFO* for American Family Fitness. I have my own connections, being the head of all Morii hotels and businesses. Turns out your boss, the CEO*, is old friends with my father. We convinced him to let you take a three month vacation. Of course, you'll have to do some work over the computer. Plus, you'll be managing one of the gyms close to Sunako's house."

Kyouhei nodded as he listened, until his eyes snapped open as realization began to settle in: "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Sunako looked at Kyouhei and then at Ranmaru and then back at Kyouhei. Ranmaru simply smirked as Sunako frantically looked around without a clue as to what he was implying and Kyouhei waited for him to answer his question.

_Both them are still so dense_.

Seiji rolled his eyes, "Kyouhei's coming, too!" He finally said.

Etsu and Keiko squealed in delight. Noi joined them, but for different reasons. Ranmaru pouted because he wanted to be the one who pissed off his favorite pair of dense friends.

Sunako gaped at her friends before finally turning to the man of the hour._ I'm not exactly angry_…

He jumped up, smacking his hands on the lunch table; _crack_. The part of the table that Kyouhei hit was now a big chunk of wood lying at his feet.

The kids stared at the man, awed by his bestial strength.

He winced. He hadn't meant to look that angry about it. He wasn't mad about the fact that he would be staying in Sunako's house, eating her food, and taking the chance to flirt with her until he was sure of her feelings. He wasn't happy; however, that his friends were meddling between them again.

How in the world was he supposed to make a move if two teenage girls were always following him around? What if they ended up making out one day and one of those little _imps_ saw it?

_Mmmm, making out…with Sunako_. Kyouhei smacked his inner 13 year old and shook himself out of his lustful stupor. Takenaga smirked at him triumphantly. The look in his best friend's eyes said it all:

_There's no getting out of this one._

He glared rebelliously before crossing his arms and defiantly looking at the ground. Until, he felt a hand on his knee. _Her_ hand on his knee. Suddenly, he didn't care anymore. All of his anger left him as she looked at him with soft and knowing eyes. _Man, she's grown up_. If this had happened when they were in high school, only restraints and narcotics would've made them agree on sleeping in the same place-or accepting their friends' plans. He felt his heart beat faster and harder, screaming her name.

_I love her so much it hurts._

"Well, looks like there's no getting out of this one," he said with a smirk. She smirked back: "But our friend's _must_ be punished," he added.

_Gosh they had grown so much. Since when had he used punishments instead of his fists?_

The smiles and smirks that adorned their friends' faces fell away: "Punished? But-"

Kyouhei rolled his eyes, "It was very rude of you to make it impossible for me to turn this 'offer' down. If I suddenly went to my boss and sounded ungrateful, despite being offered a _three month vacation_, my job and your good standing with him would very well have been threatened. I mean, who turns down a vacation that long anyway? I wouldn't want to have an idiot working for _me_."

Sunako squeezed his hand under the table, "Hmm, you're right Kyouhei that was very rude. What do you suppose we do about it?"

_Since when did they read each other's minds __**purposely**__?_

"No deserts for them," he answered simply, squeezing her hand back. Their friends sighed with relief. Until Kyouhei actually finished what he was saying "And I'm not talking just any deserts, I'm talking about _your_ deserts."

Gasps filled the air. Yuki cried and Ranmaru's lips quivered. Even Noi looked a little emotional as Takenaga's mouth straightened into a pouty straight line. Machiko and Tamao simply rolled their pretty eyes. Neither of them had grown as attacked to Sunako's cooking as the rest of the group. She was like a surrogate mother to the five of them_ and_ a best friend. _They_ simply knew her as the latter.

Sunako grinned impishly. _That was the reaction I wanted to see_. Both Kyouhei and Sunako thought.

_Yep, we're definitely sadists_.

….

Seiji groaned, annoyed: "Can we get back to the subject at hand? I don't understand why you would send us away for an entire summer before high school in the first place. This is when we're supposed to get acquainted with our new schools and figure out how we want to get there and back. And what about orientation? Are we going to be gone for that, too?"

The kid had always been good with his words, and in this situation, he would do anything to get out of his parents' crazy and whimsical plans.

Takenaga smirked as his son's inherited intelligence surfaced once again. Even though his son was extremely rebellious-that was inherited, too-his ego was stroked every time Seiji came to conclusions that only he could come to himself.

Noi smiled inwardly, Seiji was so much like the old Takenaga. Except Takenaga had never disrespected any sane or respectable adults: "We have already taken care of everything. We have your classroom number, a map of the school, a list of clubs, several possible routes, and different types of transportation."

Seiji mumbled incoherent curses. He had no other excuses. In Japan, schools aren't separated by districts or counties. You apply like you apply for college. He couldn't use 'friends' as an excuse. It was likely that he would go to high school with only 1% of the class that he just graduated middle school with. He didn't have a girlfriend, either. Even if he did, he doubted that his ridiculously jealous mother would have let him stay just for some girl.

His eyes softened as his thoughts went over his mother's over-protectiveness. _"No one's good enough for either of you. You're both the most special people in the world."_ He'd remembered her saying when he started dating a shallow big-boobed blond in the eighth grade. Of course, there were plenty of people out there equal to and of higher status than them. But he would never forget how sure and honest her eyes looked when she had said that. Or how lovingly his father had looked at her.

_So that's how she got him_.

Keiko groaned in a high pitched girly way. Seiji winced at his sister's piggish noises. His thoughts were interrupted by Etsu's creamy voice: "I don't understand the point of it all, why are you sending us away?" She asked.

_Creamy?_

Seiji shook his head. He knew the answer. And he was sure that all of the others kids knew the answer, too.

Yuki sighed as he placed a hand over Etsu's. Surprisingly, she didn't glare at him or smack his hand away. Seiji figured that physical touch made her weak against her own resolve. _Must be her love language_. Or something girly like that.

"Sweetie, we're not 'sending you away' because we want to be rid of you. We just think that you kids need some independence. Or, at least some time away from us. When we lived in the mansion, just us and sometimes Aunty, we got a taste of adulthood. And the distance from our parents helped us mature and find ourselves. Etsu, soon, life will be forcing itself upon you and you'll wonder where the time went. And Machiko and I aren't helping you. You're growing up and your emotions are running wild. You need some space. You need an adult in your life that can better relate to you, like Kyouhei or Sunako," he explained while running his thumb over her hand gently.

Etsu's lip quivered, but she quickly bit it back. She couldn't have her parents see that this was hurting her. That she felt sad. But Seiji saw it, and he was sure that anyone with a clue saw it, too.

Ranmaru looked at the kids as Yuki finished talking, "Honestly, we're scared for you. All of you. When we first moved into the mansion, Takenaga, Kyouhei, and I, we were only concerned with ourselves. The only one who tried to become friends was Yuki. I only concentrated on the girls-women-texting me. Takenaga was like a brown recluse. He refused to do anything with anyone. And Kyouhei was scarred because no one had approached him with only 'friendship' in mind before. And we see that in all of you," he added.

Tamao nodded as she grabbed her son's hand from across the table, he looked at his mother lovingly. Out of everyone in the group of kids, he was the only one being sent away for reasons other than rebelliousness towards his parents: "Honey, you need some time away from all of the girls who constantly follow you around. I know that you enjoy flirting with some of them, but it tires you sometimes doesn't it?" She sweetly asked.

He looked at the ground, his cheeks red. He nodded wordlessly as he squeezed his mother's hand. He didn't know what to do about all of the girls that constantly followed him around, so he just went with several of them at a time. But there was only one girl that he had ever found himself truly interested in. She had the same look in her eyes:

_Love me for me and not my looks_.

Kyouhei eyed Keiko and Uhei. He knew that they would be needing him more than Seiji and Etsu. He could see it in the way they approached new people. He was the same all the way throughout high school. He hoped to God that no one had _touched_ them. Sure, he could deal with it because he was tough, and "Manly" as Sunako put it once when they were hammered at Noi's wedding. But_ they_ weren't so tough. Growing up in a loving home is good. He had a tough relationship with his mother, so he could deal with the ridiculousness of others from a very early age. Uhei and Keiko weren't so unlucky.

Noi grabbed Keiko's arm coaxingly, she didn't pull away but she didn't face her mother either. She stared at the table like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Everyone expected her to come up with a speech of her own: "No one in this town deserves you, honey. So, have fun in Hokkaido! I hear that there are a lot of cute boys there!"

Everyone "fell over" at the red head's words. Keiko couldn't help but laugh at her ridiculous mother. She's known for a long time that if their parents were compared to animals, then her father would be a sheep and her mother would be the wolf licking its lips.

Takenaga looked at his watch, "Wow, it's that time already," he said sadly.

Noi kissed her daughter's cheek before leaving her to embrace Seiji. Seiji loved his mother's hugs. He got along better with her than his father sometimes. He kissed her cheek like he always did. Noi giggled and walked her children to Kyouhei's car, Takenaga holding Keiko's other hand as they did so.

Ranmaru patted his son's head, "Well, it's time to go," he said. Uhei hugged his father tightly. Ranmaru laughed and hugged his cute little son back. Tamao embraced them both.

Etsu crossed her arms as her mother kissed her face and Yuki whined because he was about to do the same thing. _I won't smile, I won't smile, I won't smile_. Machiko laughed as they both hugged their stubborn daughter. _She is so cute!_

Sunako smiled as she and Kyouhei grabbed the kids' suitcases from their friends' cars and hauled them to Kyouhei's car. Luckily the kids were skinny enough to fit in the back.

"You know where we're going next, right?" She asked as they walked slowly, giving the parents more time to say goodbye.

"My bedroom?"

Sunako flushed before punching him in the ribs. He fell over and the luggage went with him. If he had said that 14 years ago, she would've gotten a huge nose bleed before beating the crap out of him. He loved her violence. She was the only person not worried about "damaging his beautiful face." Well, besides his friends. She was the first girl to be repulsed by him. He had been enthralled and thrilled by her. Plus she was so athletic and _fun_. No one was like her.

He jumped up and tackled her. They began to wrestle on the concrete, not bothered by the hardness of the ground. They said competitive things as each of them fought for dominance.

"Oi! Lovebirds! You won't be able to make that stop we talked about if you don't get a move on!" Takenaga yelled.

Both froze before quickly getting up and grabbing the luggage like they had never stopped carrying them. Kyouhei grumbled.

_Stupid Takenaga_. Kyouhei wondered when he had gotten so obsessed with the ex-Goth walking next to him, then he smirked. _I always have been_.

Sunako and Kyouhei loaded the luggage into the trunk before climbing into the front seats of the car.

Kyouhei started the engine before slowly pulling out and waving goodbye to his friends. They had sounded excited to be rid of their kids over the phone. But in this moment, their true colors showed. Takenaga was gripping Noi's hand tightly as he slowly moved forward with the car. Tamao and Yuki were actually crying.

He shook his head with a light smile. _Kids change people_.

Seiji shifted uncomfortably before looking at Sunako, who turned around to face him, "What 'stop' was my father talking about?" He suspiciously asked.

Sunako grinned, "The place that brought all of us old folk together."

_The Mansion_.

CFO: The senior manager responsible for overseeing the financial activities of an entire company.

CEO: The highest ranking executive in a company


	5. Chapter Three: Remembering part one

It had been fifteen minutes since Kyouhei, Sunako, and the kids had left the park. Sunako's eyes kept drifting to Kyouhei's hand. She fought the urge to hold it until they arrived at the mansion.

She looked forward only to see the mansion getting closer and closer. She sighed, relieved. Some distance between her and Kyouhei would quiet her hormones. Kyouhei pulled up the long drive way and parked. Sunako got out as everyone followed.

"What is this place?" Keiko asked, somewhat impressed by the size of the white mansion that sat before her in all of its European glory.

"The mansion," Kyouhei answered.

That answer stopped everyone else's questions. They had all heard the stories. The bloopers and the mistakes. The games and the fun. The relationships and the drama.

_Speaking of drama_

"What are we doing here?" Seiji asked as they walked up the left staircase. Sunako pulled out a set of large keys. She had gotten them from Aunty herself a few days ago.

The doors crept open to reveal furniture covered in white sheets. The rooms were spacy and European. Kyouhei led them to kitchen. Memories flooded his mind as he removed the sheet from the table and removed the chairs from the top of it and placed them on the ground. He put two chairs at the head, one for him and one for Sunako.

Keiko and Uhei sat next to one another on the left and Etsu and Seiji sat next to one another on the right.

"You haven't answered my question," Seiji stated as everyone settled down and made themselves comfortable.

"We're here to share some memories," Kyouhei finally answered; an arm wrapping around Sunako's waist under the table. Because the lights were dim, no one could bear witness to his sweet gesture as he held Sunako close.

_I love dark rooms_. Sunako thought, extremely pleased.

"What's so special about this bleak mansion, anyway?" Etsu asked; eyeing the hugeness of the rooms and the dust with distaste.

_That look brings back memories_.

"Well, Takenaga knocked up Noi upstairs," Kyouhei deadpanned.

Sunako smacked his chest. He rubbed the spot she had hit before squeezing her side. She laughed before putting her right hand on top his left hand. He couldn't help but grin himself.

Keiko blushed as Seiji chuckled.

"I wish you wouldn't talk about the night I was conceived like that, Kyouhei-san," Keiko said quietly.

Kyouhei glared at the girl he considered a daughter. Sunako squeezed his hand. Had she always read his mind like this? He sighed before calming himself down. He so desperately wanted to_ smack_ some sense into the deranged 14 year old. He felt like he wanted to throw up.

"In what way should I talk about it, Keiko? I used to babysit you, change your diapers, and read you 'The Princess and the Pea' just to get you to fall asleep. You're my goddaughter," he stated. She needed to understand that he was a father-figure in her life, not another man she could wrap around her under-aged finger. He belonged to someone else, he has since he was 15 years old. And he would never ever in a million years look at his best friend's daughter that way. It was disgusting, it was wrong. She needed to realize that her attempts at dating older men only told him one thing: _I want my father to love me more_.

Keiko glared at the floor as she clenched her fists.

_You're no father_.

Seiji looked at his sister awkwardly before clearing his throat. Uhei eyed Keiko discreetly. Annoyance hid itself in his eyes. He was smart enough to know to keep his emotions from showing on his face, but he couldn't stop his thoughts.

_I see how it is_. He looked at Kyouhei approvingly. _Nice way to shut her down, sir_. He thought while mentally saluting. His inner voice laughed bitterly.

_This isn't funny_.

"What do you two mean by 'Share some memories'?" Seiji asked, desperate to move on. He knew that his sister was a touchy subject for his longtime friend, Uhei.

"We should go ahead and tell them the story, Sunako," Kyouhei stated, trying to retain his smug and detached tone as she rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. _I want to kiss you, Sunako_.

Sunako smiled before nodding, the memories flooding her mind as Kyouhei began to relay to the story.

….

_Four boys sat at a table in a well-kept rose garden. All of them could be models for their looks could be rivaled by no other group of teenage boys. One was sipping tea delicately as he read a book. A serious look adorned his face as three others sat around him, lackadaisically doing nothing. Finally, the blond and best looking one of them all sighed; a certain conversation with an old hag returning to his easily stressed mind._

_"__So, the Landlady is sending her niece to live with us?"_

_The black haired young man nodded before closing his book: "__If we turn her into a proper lady, we'll get free rent for the next three years."_

_The boys sighed dreamily, imagining a stress free life as they went through high school and their first year of university without necessarily needing money. Yuki, the cutest one of the bunch, interrupted their day dreams as he sat a wireless phone on the glass table gently._

"_Was that Oba-san?" Takenaga asked, remembering that he had been conversing with their land-lady over the phone the entire time._

_Yuki nodded, "__Her niece is arriving today. I prepared her room last night and the movers took care of the rest of her things this morning," he added._

_Ranmaru grinned as he stood up from his seat and danced over to the rose bushes, plucking one delicately. He twirled around dramatically and sniffed the flower; posing queerly as he held the rose to his nose delicately, "I bet she'll be just like her Aunt! It shouldn't be too hard of a task. No girl can stand up to me and my charm. If that doesn't work-which is impossible-We'll just say that her reward is a kiss from Ky-ou-hei," the red haired teen sang._

_The other two nodded while Kyouhei glared mercilessly at the ladies' man, "I won't kiss some random girl," he said through pearly white and clenched teeth._

_"__I'll buy anything you want for the next three years…" Takenaga offered, not bothering to look up from the book that he had begun to read again. He knew what his friend would say._

_"__Sold! It shouldn't be too hard, as long as she doesn't ask for sex or anything like that," Kyouhei said. Images of store bought fried shrimp and chocolate invaded his brain. He giggled as his cheeks glowed in the sunlight._

_"__Don't worry, we'll immediately inform Oba-san of her behavior if that happens," Yuki stated._

_Suddenly, someone stood up in the bush that Ranmaru had been dancing around. The four boys screamed and jumped back, hiding behind each other as they looked at the scary and horrific form of a girl. Her aura was dark as she stood with slumped shoulders._

_They yelped. She wriggled around as if possessed. She reached out for them and they cried. Yuki screamed girlishly while burying his head in Kyouhei's shoulder: "I don't want to die young! I'm still a virgin!"_

_The girl withdrew her hand. She continued to stand before them, thorns stabbing her ankles as the boys quivered awkwardly._

"_Don't serial killers usually do the deed by now?" Ranmaru asked. _

_The other three nodded before Takenaga's head snapped forward in realization._

"_Yuki? When did you say Sunako-chan was coming?"_

_He cutely put a finger to his chin, forgetting his fear and the girl in front of him._

"_Today."_

_Takenaga gulped, "__A-are you?"_

_The girl (creature?) nodded. The boys couldn't help but question her humanity._

_Ranmaru sized her up-this was the first time that he's ever had to _force_ himself to check out a girl-his eyes scanned her entire being from head to toe. _

_She fashioned a stained, tattered, and awkwardly lengthened skirt. Its material had sickly grey flowers littering it like pieces of trash on the side of the road. Other than its design, it was orange. _

_Her shirt looked like it was from the men's section at Wal-Mart. It had a dark brown stain on the collar-Ranmaru hoped to God that it was from some sort of food or drink-Her hair was long, black, and tangled! It looked like someone had taken an automatic mixer and used it on her hair! And those bangs! Those god-forsaken bangs! They were long enough to completely cover her forehead and eyes. Leaving no possible way for them to see if she was pretty in the face or not. _

_She also had socks (again for men) that reached her ankles, and tennis-shoes that were tattered and far from the original white that they had once been. She was….she was a Nightmare!_

_Yuki began to cry his eyes out, he was terrified. He liked sweet, cuddly, and cute things…everything that this girl (creature?) is not._

"_Nice to meet you, Sunako-chan," he managed to squeak out, remembering his manners._

_She nodded quickly, making the boys flinch: "Nice to meet you, too."_

….

"What did I just hear?" Etsu asked. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she tried to imagine the gorgeous woman before her wearing the disgusting clothes that had just been described.

"That's how I met your parents and Kyouhei," Sunako stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Keiko scowled. _Don't say his name so casually_. She shook her head, "Are you saying that she was a freak or something? I don't understand your description of Nakahara-san."

"Yeah, what did you mean by 'scary' and 'couldn't help question her humanity'?" He asked.

"When Sunako was a teenager, she was a horror lover, anti-social, and delusional. For example, every time we opened her door, we would be scarred by scary images of illegal horror films that had been banned in several countries. She would cackle so evilly when she was excited about anything horrific that the whole entire house could hear it. She also had anatomical mannequins in her room and she considered them to be her best friends. What were their names again?" He asked.

"Hiroshi, Josephine, Akira, and John," she answered.

The kids stared at the woman in disbelief.

Sunako sighed, "I also hated any clothes that could be called 'cute' because I considered myself to be a 'creature of the darkness.' This was my own nice way of saying, 'ugly.' Obviously, Kyouhei and your parents were 'creatures of the light' or 'extremely attractive people.'" She added.

Kyouhei rubbed her hand this time. This has always been an uncomfortable topic for the two of them.

"I still love horror," she mumbled cutely.

_Stop being so adorable, don't you know that I want to kiss you?_

"Anyway, I'll tell them the next part," she added.

….

_I hate that my Aunt sent me to this sanctuary of the light! She knows that I don't like being around pretty people. I wish she would accept me for who I am. It hurts that she's done this. Does she really hate who I've become? The person that I prefer being?_

_I walked around my room. It had been two days since I came here, and all those stupid boys could do was barge into my precious dark sanctuary without permission. I hate them all. They pretend to be nice, but I know that they only care about their deal with Aunty. I'm their ticket to free rent. They want to change who I am, too. _

_I wish they would be themselves…_

_I twitched when I heard someone knock on the door. I didn't answer. I didn't feel like being blinded and exposed to rays that could melt me right now. I wanted to be left alone with my dreary thoughts. _

_Apparently the person who knocked doesn't care if you answer or not; because they had already opened the door and walked in. _

_Kyouhei, the brightest one of them all, was standing a foot or two away from me. His arms were at his sides as he eyed me suspiciously. _

_He was shirtless with light blue jeans adorning his bottom half, a towel hung loosely around his neck; his hair wet due to recently taking a shower. Because of this, water was slowly dripping down his face, neck, and chest. __**What a chest**__._

_I gulped. This is not good! My nose is going to bleed! They can't know that I get a nosebleed every time I see an attractive male! They just can't! That's too embarrassing!_

_I crawled over to my bed and quickly covered my nose with my hand. My attempt to hide my especially disgusting habit didn't exactly work. The blood started to drip down into my palm until it crept through my fingers, down my wrist and arm, finally running onto and definitely staining my skirt. Not that I cared, the thing was incredibly ugly anyway. _

_I mentally rejoiced since it was too dark for the creature of light to see. Yes! At least he couldn't see my "problem."_

"_Oi! What's your damage! All we've done is nice things for you! It's been bothering me! Why are you so…weird?" Kyouhei harshly asked. His arms now crossed, his eyes giving me an accusing look that rivaled my own critical stare. Except he looked more like an angry gang leader, while I came out looking possessed every time I glared at someone._

"_It's none of your business! Just get out!" I yelled; I so desperately wanted him to leave so that I could clean myself up and successfully maintain my secret._

_He scoffed while stepping forward. I flinched._

_He stopped when he noticed my discomfort, which was surprising. He stared for a moment as if it was his first time looking at me. He couldn't really see because the lights weren't on and the windows were thoroughly covered by thick, black drapes. But he still eyed me, stared at me. I shivered._

_My thoughts were interrupted by the other three. They were running down the hallway, deciding to intrude as well._

"_What's wrong?" Takenaga asked. The smart one of their little "group."_

"_Is everything ok?" The supposed sweetest one of them all asked in-between breaths. They had been running with all of their might, apparently. I rolled my eyes at the dramatic notion._

"_Everything is fine! All of you just get out!" I yelled._

_Takenaga put his hand up to his chin as if he was trying to solve a difficult mathematical equation. Until his eyes flashed and he shot a knowing look in my direction. Though I doubt he actually figured anything about me out._

"_Have you had bad experiences with men? Did you get abused and that's why you become so _mortified_ every time we get within ten feet of you?" He asked seriously._

_Yuki piped up,_ _"Really? If that's the case, then we'll try to be more careful-"_

_I cut Yuki off, "No! I just don't like you! It's that simple, so stop bothering me!" I yelled, my voice venomous. I winced, I hadn't tried to sound so hateful. But they made me so nervous that I didn't know how to act or talk civilly around them. That blond one was the worst._

_They glared at me, shouldn't they have cowered away in fear like they usually do?_

"_We were just being nice, but I guess that doesn't float your boat," Ranmaru hissed._

"_Yeah, it wouldn't kill you to show at least a _little_ kindness," Yuki stated while crossing his arms._

_Kyouhei glared daggers at me, " I hope you realize how rude you've been to us these last couple of days," he sneered._

"_Come on guys, she's not worth the trouble," Kyouhei continued as he turned to leave, the others followed before slamming the door._

_I removed my hand from my nose before fidgeting guiltily. Maybe I was being a little too harsh. I mean, even though they're getting offered free rent, they were still nice to someone as ugly and strange as me. I sighed; I have to apologize._

_After about ten minutes, I finally changed clothes. I got up and slowly opened my door, thankfully, it didn't make any noise. I walked out and left it open. I examined my surroundings, trying to remember how I got there. I easily figured it out and soon found the kitchen, which is also where they were. I gulped nervously as I hid behind a nearby wall, trying to gather my courage._

_Kyouhei was standing in front of the stove, failing miserably as he tried to prepare the water for fish stew. I decided to wait a little longer before I went in._

"_I still can't believe how rude she was!" Yuki exclaimed._

"_Well, it just proved my hypothesis. Something did happen to her, and it was caused by a man," Takenaga bitterly stated._

_Ranmaru smacked the table, "What exactly happened? What could possibly turn a girl into a hideous monster that doesn't dress right?" He angrily asked._

_Kyouhei suddenly dropped the pan and scolding hot water spilled onto his hands._

"_Ow!" He yelled while running around in circles._

_Images of the food that they had been bringing me swarmed my mind. I realized that none of them could cook because everything had been store bought._

_I sighed; I barged into the kitchen, the boys hid behind the table as they watched me pick up a knife. They began to hurriedly voice random apologies, their words dripping with fear. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the fish and got to work. They screamed as they watched me slice it up; probably convinced that I was only doing this to freak them out. I finished cleaning and cutting up the fish and started working on other dishes. They quieted down and I felt their stares burning holes into my back._

_I finished everything up and set the table. They quickly sat down before suspiciously taking a bite. They screamed before munching and gulping down the food like a bunch of wild animals._

"_So good!"_

"_This is like heaven in the form of Japanese food!"_

"_I can't stop crying!"_

"_Hey, don't take all of the meat!"_

_I waited for them to finish, and when they did I spoke up quietly. It was loud enough for them to hear because they all stopped what they were doing and looked at me._

"_I'm sorry about earlier. But I have a hard time saying things nicely because you intimidate me. I realize that none of you can cook, and I noticed tons of mess as I walked here. So, as an apology, I'll do all of the cooking and cleaning from now on," I explained, avoiding their eyes._

_They stared at me for a moment, and then they looked at one another._

"_It's fine, just please try to be a bit…nicer," Takenaga said._

_I nodded. Ranmaru smirked and stepped forward, "So what happened with you and said 'Man?' You know, the one that _ruined_ you," he said, his tone suggestive._

_I backed away, "Nothing-"_

_They cut me off. Zooming towards me, "He called me ugly!" I yelled while covering my head and bending down to the floor to defend myself._

_They stopped dead in their tracks, "That's all?" They exclaimed._

_That's all? __**That's all?**_ "_You don't understand! I loved him! And the day I finally confessed, he laughed in my face and told me that he hated, 'ugly girls.' Beautiful people will never know what that can do to a person. I'm sure that if one of you loved someone and confessed that they would accept, even if they weren't interested! None of you can ever understand rejection like I do," I hissed._

_Kyouhei scoffed while glaring at me, "Maybe not, but you'll never know what it's like to be stalked, molested, and groped by strangers of all ages and sexes," He shot back. His voice bitter with hate. Personal experience flashed in his eyes, almost as if the situations he had implied where playing in his mind and reflecting against his auburn orbs._

_My eyes widened, Ranmaru elbowed him in the chest._

"_Anyway, let's see what's under those…bangs," he added while evilly smirking and inching towards me._

….

"Wait, what happened next?" Etsu asked.

"Kyouhei jumped on top of me, trying to tie my bangs back. I tried to slide from under him, but he was too heavy so all I managed to do was awkwardly and quickly slide around the kitchen floor until I hit a cabinet. Kyouhei tied my bangs back before some flour fell and covered my face," Sunako continued.

"Yeah, but we all thought that she looked really, really, really pretty because it covered up zits and facial blemishes," he continued, shivering at the memory.

_Well, she's gorgeous now. _Kyouhei thought as he slowly let his eyes rake over his long time best friend. _And sexy_.

Seiji and Uhei looked grossed out as they eyed Sunako in a new way. Keiko rolled her eyes and Etsu found herself believing it. Sunako was wearing a black blouse, a black skirt that went mid-thigh, black tights (despite the summer weather), and black flats. Wearing all black only told Etsu one thing:

_I'm insecure_.

"Now, let's talk about how I met your moms," she stated with mischievous look in her eyes.


	6. Chapter Four: Remembering part two

_Those around looked at the scene with quizzical looks on their faces. Sunako huffed and puffed as her body was dragged across the ground almost _gently_. She voiced her annoyance as the events of this morning played out in her mind._

_Kyouhei, out of frustration, had tied Sunako up and dragged her out of the house. It had only been a day since her bangs (or her protection against the world) had been cut off. She refused to go anywhere, even school. She didn't want anyone to see her ugly face._

_Kyouhei decided that he'd had enough, rapped a rope around her upper torso, and began to pull her to school himself. But not before she took one of Yuki's hats and put it on. _

_Yuki, Ranmaru, Takenaga, and Kyouhei were walking along side one another, while Sunako was awkwardly being dragged behind them. Sunako sat almost patiently as the four of them stopped._

_Suddenly, a young girl with red hair began to make her way towards them. She was easy to notice because everyone who had once surrounded the four boys parted like the Red Sea for the beautiful 15 year old. Because she was the prettiest girl in the school, no one "objected" to her interacting with them._

_Takenaga cleared his throat nervously, "Well, I think that there's something for me to do somewhere," he mumbled before quickly scampering away._

Whoa! Such a radiant girl!_ Sunako thought. Her arm moving to dramatically cover her eyes. _

"_Has anyone seen Oda?" She shyly but confidently asked._

"_Can you not find him on your own? Do you want me to look for him or something?" Kyouhei asked with a teasing and smug smirk. He knew something that Sunako didn't._

"_He's so shy. He's probably hiding in a random closet somewhere," Yuki added while chuckling._

"_What the heck, so he isn't around," Noi mumbled loud enough for mostly everyone around her to hear._

"_Noi-Chan, we're guys too!" Some of her fans yelled at a distance. They also knew something that Sunako didn't._

_Sunako's house-mates had already started their own conversations with kids hanging around the entrance. Noi walked up to Sunako, ready to ask a billion personal questions about the guy she secretly (though everyone knows) likes. After all, the only girl living with them would know a lot, right? _

"_Ahem," Noi called._

_Blood shot out of Sunako's nose. Noi screamed while jumping backwards to avoid it._

"_Are you alright?" Noi sweetly asked._

"_Yes, that's just what happens when I get too close to a beautiful being," Sunako answered strangely. _

Such a nice person, she called me beautiful!_ Noi thought. A happy smile adorned her face, not afraid of the weirdo in front of her at all._

"_I envy you Sunako; you live in the same house as Oda, right?" She asked._

"_I live with three other guys, too."_

"_That's not important," Noi stated, "What's it like…to see Oda at home? What does he do?" She eagerly asked._

_Sunako shrugged, _"_I don't really know, he's too radiant to look at. So, I don't…look at him," Sunako answered._

"_Ah! How nice it must be! To be able to see his face every day! I'm really envious now," Noi dreamily stated. Her eyes in a faraway place._

"_I don't look…at him," Sunako said again, a blank expression adorning her face._

Wait!_ Sunako thought as realization struck her like lightning. _This girl obviously wants to live with the smart one.

"_Do you want to trade places with me? You'll definitely fit in at that house!" Sunako desperately said._

"_Eh? Really?" Noi asked. She smiled at the thought._

"_No way," Kyouhei said after popping up out of nowhere, a glare etched onto his "beautiful" facial features, "Do you know what would happen if someone like her lived with us? It would be a total nightmare!" He yelled while pointing an accusing finger at the pretty red-head._

"_Why? I just want to peek when Oda's bathing, snuggle with him at night, and do 'this' and 'that' with him! So what?" She yelled back, "We'll be quiet so you'll be perfectly happy even with me there!"_

I didn't know that pretty girls said things like that, too_. Sunako thought as she watched the two radiant creatures continue on with their argument._

"_What? I won't be happy you idiot! My room's right next to his!" _

"_Don't worry! I'll be incredibly quiet, that way, you can sleep peacefully!" Noi yelled while crossing her arms._

"_Don't be ridiculous!"_

_Sunako stared at the two beautiful teenagers as they fought. Imaginary lights began to appear around them. Sunako turned her head in the opposite direction, desperate to successfully avert her eyes. _Lor-Lord! They're a perfect match! _Sunako thought._

"_You know, I saw a gangster waving at you the other day!" Noi loudly stated._

She really is beautiful! Such a natural! Speaking to that radiant creature comes so easily! _Sunako thought, continuing to stare in awe_. Wait, how did they get to talking about gangs?

"_I'm the leader! The leader!" Kyouhei yelled in the background._

"_Oh no! I'm _so_ scared!" Noi taunted._

_Kyouhei suddenly pulled on the rope Sunako had momentarily forgotten about, and started to drag her along with him. "Come on Sunako," he said._

"_Good luck Sunako! See you around!" Noi yelled, forced tears streaming down her cheeks as she waved a random hanky for dramatic effect._

….

"That's how I met Noi. It wasn't anything special, and all we talked about was her crush. But we managed to become great friends as our adventures became more and more hectic."

"Our. Mom. Was. A. Fangirl," Keiko and Seiji chanted darkly. Their embarrassment shown on their identical faces.

Etsu crossed her arms, "Don't be so embarrassed by your mom, Seiji, Keiko. It's obvious that Sunako was _much_ weirder in those days."

Keiko was shaken out of her stupor, "Wait, what you mean exactly when you said, 'they're a perfect match'?" She asked. Her imagination running wild as she theorized that her mother, father, and Kyouhei had been involved in a love triangle during high school. _That doesn't add up, how could Kyouhei of all people lose to anyone? Especially a cold fish like dad?_

"Obviously, you were wrong. I've never seen a couple more obsessed with each other than my own parents," Uhei said.

"I didn't really mean that they were 'meant for each other' only that their looks matched. Noi, in my mind, has always been Kyouhei's physical equivalent," Sunako explained, "Noi never saw Kyouhei in that way, either. Kyouhei and Noi are like long lost siblings."

Kyouhei agreed, but frowned a little_. You're my equivalent in every way, Sunako. _Is what he wanted to say, but couldn't because of present company. Keiko was an amplified version of Noi. If Keiko had a reason to be jealous of Sunako, then she would become a very scary little animal. He had seen it once when he was at the beach with the Odas last summer. His usual fans and their overzealous behavior gave them the courage to grab both of his arms. Keiko lashed out and had to be _pried_ away from the two girls who had "committed such a crime." They left with bruises and a few broken ribs. Or "battle scars" as the two victims had called them. He had always wondered what she had done to girls behind his back.

After that, Kyouhei and Takenaga made sure that the two of them were never alone together. And Kyouhei vowed to never spend time with their family without Sunako or his other friends ever again. Keiko had it in her head that he came only for her even though he'd never had those intentions.

_What do I do about this?_

"So, how did you meet my mom?" Uhei asked with red cheeks. He was curious about the relationship between his own mother and Sunako.

Sunako smiled.

….

_The red haired man whore sighed loudly, _"_I can't believe that Otou-san picked a wife for me! And what kind of father waits until the day of the marriage meeting to tell his son about it?"_ _Ranmaru exclaimed._

"_Why does it matter that he waited to say something until today?" Yuki innocently asked._

"_She picked me to be her fiancé four weeks ago! Do you know how many of my kittens I've 'done' in that time span?" He rhetorically asked as he paced the living room anxiously._

"_It doesn't really matter. You don't exactly know how her family, let alone your family, would react to you skipping out on it," Kyouhei stated. The others rolled their eyes at his words. If he was in Ranmaru's shoes he would be acting much worse._

_Ranmaru sighed, "Well, what do I do? I can't have my cake and eat it, too."_

"_Well, if I was smart I would hate you right away," Takenaga answered._

"_Well, who wouldn't hate this cold-blooded book reading boy?" Ranmaru harshly asked._

_Takenaga smirked: "Noi."_

"_I wouldn't like any of you. You're all too annoying," Kyouhei mumbled._

_The other three housemates turned to Kyouhei at the same time: "Says the biggest prick of us all!"_

_Takenaga's eyes flashed and the boys stopped their bickering, knowing that look: "When I think about it, any sensible and confident woman wouldn't want any of us. We're too selfish and childish in our own ways," he started._

"_So…"_

"_If you act like us, Yuki, myself, or Kyouhei, I'm sure that she'll immediately reject you. Just wait until after talking to her a bit to find out what she likes or dislikes," he added._

"_That's perfect, if I was her, I would immediately hate any one of you," Sunako said while smirking._

_The boys glared at her before depressingly falling over and sighing. Ranmaru voiced his goodbye and left._

"_I hope that Ranmaru doesn't hurt her feelings," Yuki worriedly stated._

"_From what his father told me, she was forced to look through a photo album of rich and high status bachelors. It was her job to choose one to be her fiancé or else her parents would choose one for her. She laid her eyes on the handsome Ranmaru and picked him. If I was forced to pick my future spouse from a pile of pictures, I would choose someone who wasn't ugly, too," Takenaga explained._

_Yuki and Kyouhei agreed while Sunako continued to eat her chips and watch television._

_Ranmaru came back about four hours later. A tired and upset look on his face._

"_What's wrong, Ranmaru?" Yuki asked._

_Takenaga looked up from his book and Kyouhei turned away from the TV, "How did it go?"_

"_That girl isn't even human, not womanly at all! I like my women a little perverted and experienced. She doesn't have any! She hasn't dated a single person her entire life! Heck, she seemed void of emotions themselves! It's like talking to a brick wall! I can't tell what she's thinking, and her body language is even harder to read. She's so stiff and elegant and _traditional_. No matter who I impersonated, she decided that the poker face was attractive. Even when I acted like Sunako…" Ranmaru said while shuddering from the chills going up his spine._

"_Doesn't that mean she's meant for you? A girl that you don't know how to seduce; you being a playboy and all, that should tell you something," Takenaga stated._

_Ranmaru quizzically looked at Takenaga._

"_What I mean is; opposites attract. You go out with someone almost every single day. She goes out rarely and her only company is her chauffer. You prefer to have sex all of the time. She's saving her virginity for the man that she's going to marry. It makes sense to me," Takenaga smartly explained to the ignorant ladies' man before him._

_Yuki and Kyouhei nodded in agreement while Sunako scoffed, "What a weird conversation," she mumbled while walking to the kitchen to prepare dinner._

_The doorbell suddenly rang. Sunako mumbled incoherent words, probably curses, while stalking towards the door._

"_Um, hello, my names Tamao. Ranmaru-san left his scarf at the restaurant we dined at earlier," a pretty blond girl said sweetly and nervously._

_Sunako decided to freak out about her radiance later and invited the nervous girl into the mansion._

"_Just follow me, I'll lead you to the living room," Sunako said._

_The girl nodded, sure that Ranmaru himself must've been in the living room._

_Noi sighed while letting herself in. She stalked towards the living room, knowing that everyone spent most of their time in there. Noi figured that Ranmaru was probably off doing one of his "kittens" because he was the only housemate missing._

_She saw Takenaga and blushed. Until her eyes laid on a blond "ojou-sama" type who was sitting on the love seat. _

"_Oh hello! What's your name?" Noi asked._

"_I-I'm Tamao, Ranmaru-sans fiancé," she answered._

_Noi's eyes became wide. She burst into fits of laughter before sitting next to Takenaga._

"_T-that playboy's fiancé? That's a funny joke!" She said in between laughs. But, her chortles were cut short by a firm hand clasping her shoulder._

"_It's true, Noi. She was forced to pick out a fiancé, and Ranmaru just so happened to be the person she chose. Now hush," he whispered harshly._

_Noi mentally cursed; disappointed in her own rash behavior. But she was more annoyed with herself for upsetting Takenaga. She quieted down quickly._

"_Where's Sunako?" Noi asked._

"_She's in the kitchen making dinner," Yuki answered._

_Sunako came out with two extra plates and sat on the floor while handing everyone their food._

_Tamao looked at Sunako and realized that she never properly introduced herself_, "_What's your name, miss?" She sweetly asked, noting that she was an amazing cook._

"_…Sunako."_

….

"So, my mom was forced to pick my dad?" Uhei asked.

"Not really. She really liked Ranmaru even if he was a player. Your father was the one who felt 'forced.' But he soon came to love Tamao more than anyone else because with her it was different. With her, it wasn't a game of 'hide from the angry rich husbands.' With your mom, it was real love," Kyouhei explained.

Uhei sighed, "I've always known that I get it from him. I blame it on the inherited pheromones."

Keiko quirked an eyebrow at the young blond-haired blue-eyed_ boy_ sitting next to her. _Get what from him? What pheromones?_

"You mean, you're like the old Ranmaru?" Sunako asked, trying to keep from laughing.

Instead of answering her question, Uhei simply pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her: "Contacts."

Sunako pressed the button: "_800?_" She exclaimed.

Kyouhei snatched it away from Sunako, removing his arm from her hip: "Whoa, that's even more than Ranmaru used to have," he said absentmindedly as he scrolled through the young boy's phone. Name's like: _The girl from the beach_, _that girl from class 3-A_, and _that girl from the supermarket_ displaying themselves on the screen. Kyouhei laughed, _at least Ranmaru remembered their names._

Uhei couldn't help but smirk at that, "But, I'm not cougarbait* like dad used to be."

Keiko's eyes widened, that was more than the boys she had in her own phone. _Whatever, he probably made them up. Who would want a little boy like-?_

Keiko's thoughts trailed off as she looked at Uhei closely for the first time. Blond hair, blue eyes, a mature face, white teeth, long legs, a chest toned enough to make his shirts look tight-Keiko smirked. If he was older his looks could rival Kyouhei's.

_Props to puberty._

Etsu rolled her eyes: "What is this? The family business?" She asked rudely when the phone had been passed to her.

Sunako made a face, "A little judgmental are we?" She mumbled with crossed arms; defensive of her red-headed friend.

"Nope. I just _know_ from _stories_ that Ranmaru-san was a whore. He was far more experienced than girls his age, so he went after older women. From what I've heard, he even hit on Aunty once. But to no avail, the women he dated were the players and he was the one being played no matter how you look at it," Etsu eyed her finger nails as her words continued to stray further and further down _B****iness Boulevard_.

_No one talks about dad like that._

Uhei snatched his phone from her, "What about your dad? He was a girly animal lover who cried easier than his own girlfriend." He snarled. He didn't hate Yuki-san at all, but he had nothing else to throw at Etsu.

Etsu shrugged, "At least he only went after one girl his entire life. If your dad had continued his destructive behavior, he could've contracted a disease of some sort. And where would you be, Uhei?"

Uhei stood up. He was _this_ close to smacking his childhood friend. _"We never hit women no matter how much they deserve it. We are men so we must act like it." _His father's words rang in his ears before he sighed and sat down. He crossed his arms and legs before smirking:

"But he didn't, did he?" His tone was suggestive as he spoke. This outraged Etsu.

_Why isn't he angry?_

Sunako shook her head: "So, _that's _your deal," she stated while looking at Etsu.

Etsu turned on Sunako: "What are you talking about?" She asked rather harshly.

Sunako winced, "You like to get a rise out of people," she stated simply. Kyouhei shot her a warning look. She ignored it.

"All I did was state the simple truth," Etsu blankly defended.

Sunako shook her head with a smirk: "You don't give a crap about Ranmaru's past sexual tendencies. You do; however, enjoy making people angry. It distracts you from what? Your own inner turmoil? Your own rage? Your own inefficiency? Your dissatisfaction with life?"

_I know what I'm talking about, kid. I know people with the same problem. _Sunako thought, images of Seiji and a 15 year old Takenaga flashing in her mind like a movie.

Etsu's eyes began to hurt from the pressure she was putting on them; glaring with all that she had. _At least that's what it feels like_.

"Leave Etsu alone, would you? Everyone in this room has their own problems to deal with," Seiji countered.

Keiko nodded, "What's that saying again? 'Adults are meant to be seen, not heard'?" She asked with a smirk, purposely quoting it incorrectly.

Uhei eyed Sunako nervously, Kyouhei had an expression similar to his. _Stop while you're ahead_.

Sunako quirked an eyebrow at Keiko, "Pretending to care about Etsu's integrity, are we? You just wanted a chance to throw some of your bitter words at me."

"_Sunako_…" _They're just kids_.

"_Kyouhei_…" _That's what I'm trying to make them understand._

"I'm sick of hearing your stupid voice!" Keiko yelled, hearing Sunako call his name with no honorific* set her off. Etsu jumped. Once Keiko got started for real she was worse than anyone she had ever seen angry. Even Kyouhei who joined a biker gang because he was so pissed.

"All you do is say useless things that no one cares about! Who cares about how our parents met? Who cares about_ your_ relationships from the past? Who cares about the fact that you used to be a creepy little_ freak_?" Keiko screeched.

Seiji stood as well. He grabbed his sister's wrist, "Keiko, calm down."

She snatched her hand away, "No! I have to spend an entire summer with this weirdo that I don't even know! None of the guys I like know because mom and dad deleted all of my contacts! No one knows that I'll be in _Hokkaido_ of all places! Will mom and dad even miss us? Who knows? Mom is a slut and dad is a freaking _snake_ with how venomous and unfeeling he is most of the time. Reading his stupid books and making comments that mean _nothing_." She huffed.

She turned to look at her twin brother, her eyes intense whirlpools of emotions that were spinning out of control. "And you're just like him! Mean, calculating, rude, and just plain zombie-like. I wonder who ate _your_ brains."

Seiji moved forward, but Sunako stopped him. A hard look adorned her face as Keiko continued her rant.

_This has probably been boiling deep within her for weeks, months even_.

Seiji understood, staying put, hands in his pockets.

"I'm just so _pissed_!" She finally screamed. She huffed and puffed, her arms at her sides. Her knuckles were flushed because of her anger, her eyes were slits. She took a deep breath before standing up straight and wiping some sweat from her brow.

Sunako cleared her throat with a genuine smile, "Feel better?"

Kyouhei shook his head as it all clicked. _A person who used to hold grudges can see that someone is holding a grudge from a mile away_.

Keiko blushed. _Yes_: "If you excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

Sunako showed Keiko and Etsu-who decided to tag along-where the bathroom was and walked back to the kitchen/dining room. She sighed happily as she stretched her legs and cracked her arms.

"You're very sly, Nakahara-san," Uhei commented. Seiji nodded in agreement.

"Well, I meant for Etsu to open up. But, Keiko is fine, too," she stated simply. "Of course, I didn't expect you to defend Etsu, either," she added slyly, giving Seiji a look.

Seiji blushed, "She reminds me of myself."

Kyouhei chuckled, "Dude, you two are _nothing_ alike."

Seiji turned away with crossed arms and a pouty face. _I've been found out_.

"What is the deal with you four anyway?" Sunako asked. She had long ago noticed the tense feelings that seemed to emit from the two boys while the girls seemed oblivious to it all.

Uhei sighed and Seiji's eyes suddenly seemed distant: "Unrequited love," they both breathed quietly.

Sunako's eyes widened as Kyouhei smirked: "I've known for a while now. You both make the same faces that Takenaga and Ranmaru used to make when they _pined_ for Noi and Tamao."

"And who do Seiji and Uhei 'pine' for?" Etsu asked with a smirk from behind. The two boys who were now sitting next to one another on the left side of the table.

"Uh…"

….

Cougarbait: women who like younger men are referred to as "Cougars." In turn, boys who like older women can be defined as "Cougarbait" or "Cubs." (Ahahahahahaha).

Honorifics: In Japan, if a person doesn't use an honorific when addressing someone (such as chan, kun, sama, or san), it means that the two people are extremely close (first names are considered very personal and private in Japan).


	7. Chapter Five: Remembering part three

_"And who do Seiji and Uhei 'pine' for?" Etsu asked with a smirk from behind. The two boys were now sitting next to one another on the left side of the table._

_"Uh…"_

"Beyoncé Knowles!" Uhei blurted out.

Sunako and Kyouhei snickered, their hands covering their mouths. _Beyoncé_?

Keiko scrunched her eyebrows, "I didn't know that you were into dark girls, Seiji," the blond American bimbo from the eighth grade coming to mind.

"_I'm not-_" Uhei elbowed Seiji in the ribs, "-Totally am. She is so…you know, _hot_."

Sunako and Kyouhei couldn't hold it in anymore as their laughs penetrated the air. Sunako fell out of her chair and Kyouhei was incessantly smacking the table hunched over.

Uhei blushed as Seiji gave him a cold look.

_Beyoncé? Etsu thinks that I find __**Beyoncé**__ attractive? They're like complete opposites you dolt!_

_That was the point!_

"Anyway…" Etsu started as she and Keiko sat across from the two boys.

Sunako slowly sat up, still snickering, "I'm sorry-laugh-but you should've been here a few-laugh-never mind…"

….

_Yuki, Ranmaru, and Takenaga ran around the living room in excitement. The only male housemate not smiling or dancing around like an idiot was the scowling Kyouhei who was eating fried shrimp angrily. He hated holidays, especially this one._

_It's Christmas Eve and they all have dates*. Takenaga's going out with Noi, Ranmaru's either meeting with Tamao or one of his 'Kittens' and Yuki's seeing his girlfriend. I haven't met her yet, but I'm pretty sure that her name's Machiko._

_"Well, I'm going out!" Ranmaru sang while slamming the front door shut._

_I continued to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas, which had been playing all week due to the Christmas season. I laughed as Sally, the rag doll, jumped from her room and broke into multiple pieces when she hit the ground. _

_Yuki zipped up his coat with glee and hummed as he put on his hat. He looked at two tickets and his face immediately brightened then suddenly paled. He must've been nervous and happy at the same time or something._

_I shrugged and popped another chocolate into my mouth._

_"See you all later!" He happily chirped while walking out of the house._

_Takenaga rolled his eyes and went out as well._

_Kyouhei crawled over next to me and began to watch__. By the time we reached the thirty minute mark, Kyouhei grumbled as he stood up._

"_I have to work-I swear if that old hag tries to touch me today of all days, I'll-" I didn't have the "pleasure" of hearing the rest of Kyouhei's grumbles because he had already thrown on his coat and left__._

_I walked to my room after the movie finished. I turned on my PS3 and began to fight Akira and Hiroshi (Josephine hates video games). I laughed as time raced away and I won against them every single game!_

_I looked at the clock after the twentieth round. 12:00 am. I sighed before turning the TV off and climbing onto my bed._

_The next day, I woke up pretty early. Kyouhei was sleeping on my floor, lipstick in the shape of two really big lips covered his face. Guess that old lady wanted him to work on Christmas Eve for a reason. I put a blanket over him and lazily walked to the kitchen so that Kyouhei wouldn't whine about food so early in the morning._

_The phone began to ring and I answered with a yawn._

_"Hello?"_

_"Um, is this one of Yuki-kun's friends?" A feminine voice asked._

_"Is this Machiko?" I guessed._

_"Um, yes. You see Yuki and I, last night…well-"_

_"-I get what you mean," I said, cutting her off. She obviously didn't want to relay the dirty details, and honestly, I really didn't want to hear them._

_"Well. He's sleeping and no matter how many times I've tried to get him out of bed, he won't wake up!" She nervously explained._

_"Go on"._

_"My flight for America leaves in forty-five minutes! I wanted to say goodbye before I left, so could-"_

_"-Could I come over, wake him up, and let you two have a romantic last five minutes together?" I asked,_

_"Yes! Thank you! I figured that someone at the mansion would know how to wake him up!" She happily exclaimed._ _"Oh, we're at Ranmaru-san's hotel near your high school."_

_"I'll be there in about ten minutes," I said before hanging up._

_I threw on sweat-pants, boots, gloves, and my coat before proceeding to walk to the hotel._

_I walked inside to see an empty lobby. I walked up to the receptionist who eyed me warily. _

_"I'm looking for a Yuki Toyhama and a Miss Machiko," I said to the desk receptionist._

_She smiled nervously before opening a book._

_"Ah yes, they have yet to check out. They're on the sixth floor in room 605," she choked out._

_I nodded and stalked towards the elevator. _Everyone's a critic_._

Why couldn't these creatures of light do anything themselves?_ I asked myself before pressing the correct button._

_The elevator finally stopped at the sixth floor and I stepped out looking for room 605._

_It was at the end of the hallway. I gently knocked on the door. A girl with blond hair answered before letting me in._

_She was radiant, not as radiant as Kyouhei. But then again, _no one _is as radiant as Kyouhei._

_"Ah, you must be Sunako," she said._

_I nodded before she led me to the bed. And there Yuki lay, clad in his baggy panda boxers, the girl probably put them on him herself. Poor thing._

"_May I use your phone?" I asked._

_She handed me her cellular device quickly. I opened her YouTube app before searching "This is Halloween" by Creepypasta. I walked over to the bed before putting the phone's speaker next to his ear._

_He began to toss and turn as the eerie song entered his eardrums. He began to whimper before tears rolled down his cheeks. He opened his eyes slowly as the song continued. His eyes watered once he looked at my face._

"_Uwaaaaaaaaaaah," he screeched, rolling off of the bed._

_Machiko helped him up before explaining my presence in their "room." He blushed before apologizing to the both of us. I quickly took my leave, knowing that they wanted to be alone._

….

Etsu's face was twisted in disgust: "That's disturbing."

Kyouhei laughed, "_That's_ how you met 'sweet' and 'innocent' Machiko?" He laughed even more after Sunako nodded.

"That's how I met Machiko. It's not a day I'll easily forget. Especially because it was exactly two weeks before I began to pretend to be a lady," Sunako explained.

Kyouhei's face hardened. He looked sullen and wounded as his foot began to restlessly tap against the ground.

"What do you mean?" Seiji asked, curious because of Kyouhei's strange behavior.

Keiko's ears perked as she watched Kyouhei. _He looks so sad. I want to know what she means, too._

"That's another story for another time," Sunako said as she stood slowly and stretched, "Right now, we have to make our way to the airport. We have forty minutes."

Kyouhei stood up as well and replaced the chairs and the sheet that had earlier been discarded to the floor.

"If you didn't know you were coming with us, how are you going to get your things?" Sunako asked as they walked out of the mansion.

"I asked Takenaga about my things just before we left. He said, 'Don't worry, it's waiting for you on her front porch.'" Kyouhei answered as Sunako locked the mansion's front door.

She ran her hand down the front of it, "Leaving here is always tough," she whispered.

Kyouhei grabbed her hand from off of the front door and held it. It was safe to do this because the kids were already going down the stairs.

"You still have the people that made it so great," he whispered. He brushed his lips across her knuckles.

Sunako blushed before touching his cheeks. His eyes seemed to sparkle, "I still have _you_."

….

Christmas Eve dates: In Japan, Christmas is "Lover's Day."


	8. Chapter Six: Hokkaido

Starting Over, chapter seven.

Kyohei reluctantly drove Sunako and the kids to the airport. "Thanks for driving me around today," she said with a smile.

Kyohei smiled back before hugging Sunako and gracing her cheek with his lips.

"Don't bleed now. It's just my way of saying…Your welcome,"

Keiko and Etsu's eyes burned with jealously at the scene unfolding in front of them.

Sunako blushed. But, she had grown up. It wasn't hard for Sunako to figure out that the world is filled to the brink with beautiful people, so there was no escaping the fact that they were everywhere. Once she convinced herself of that, the nosebleeds stopped.

Sunako hugged Kyohei back and pecked him on the cheek as well. She than released and made her way to the plane. Her best friend's children following close behind her.

"That was disgusting," Etsu said while shivering.

"Kyohei should be doing that with _me_, not _her_," Keiko stated. Extra venom was pronounced along with Sunako's name.

Sunako rolled her eyes. She could hear every word. Were these kids that stupid? Sunako chuckled at the thought.

"She can hear us you know," Seiji stated. Obviously annoyed at his idiot friends and sister.

Etsu quieted once she realized that Sunako- the woman that would be feeding her and taking care of her for the rest of Summer break. Could hear the rude comments she had been carelessly spouting out earlier.

"I don't care! She can rot in hel-"

"-You finish that sentence, and I'll make sure Kyohei never comes," Sunako threatened.

Keiko swallowed her words while crossing her arms.

Sunako stressfully sighed. It's like…she's just adopted a bunch of hormonal teenagers. She knew that this would be a little more than she could handle. But, these girls don't have it rough. They've always been taught to behave and blah, blah, blah. So, like most teenagers do, they're practicing the opposite method than the one that's been preached. They've decided to date older men. Something they know their parents don't perceive as being obedient. And the boys, well, Uhei is taking after Ranmaru. That much is obvious. But, you can also tell that it's a poker face. He's not a natural womanizer like his father was. And Seiji, he's a carbon copy of Takenaga, only worse.

"Why do you guys want to, "date," Kyohei so badly anyway?" Seiji asked. The disgust in his voice evident.

"Our mom's and dad's would really pay attention to us, if we dated one of their long-time friends. We would go after the other ones too, but, we're not tramps, married men are off limits. And well, ever since we've started middle school. My parents haven't really been paying attention to me…at all," Etsu explained, "But Keiko fell for him during the actual process, so, she seriously likes him," she added.

Seiji's eyes flashed with understanding. While Uhei inwardly threw up at Keiko, "seriously," liking Kyohei.

Sunako decided that she would help these kids. Their in pain and she knows what it's like to be neglected, forgotten even. Shame on her friends! This was ridiculous, her friends knew better, so why were they acting indifferent?

The plane took off. The journey to Hokkaido began.

It was long and boring.

"Sunako? Are we almost there yet?" Uhei asked, impatient and bored.

"How many times do I have to tell you that we won't be there for another three hours?" She asked venomously.

Sunako sighed and turned around. Facing the front once again. Her eye twitching due to the annoyance.

"If looks could kill," Seiji whispered to Etsu, making her laugh in the process.

"So, what should we do until we get there?" Uhei asked Seiji.

"How the heck should I know? It's not like I'm some sort of wizard that can magically know what to do when things get boring,"

Uhei glared at his long-time friend. And turned his head to the side. He soon found his gaze transfixed on Keiko's face, well, the side of it.

Uhei would never admit this aloud, but, he's liked Keiko for quite some time now. Even if she's already thirteen and he's only twelve. She's so far ahead of him. What's a boy to do when he's in love with an older woman? It's just too much for a middle schooler to handle.

Uhei's best friend, Seiji, is interested in Etsu. But it's hard for Seiji because he's going to be a first-year in high school while Etsu will still be in seventh grade. He'll be made fun of if any of his friends found out.

Now, what angered the two boys the most was Etsu and Keiko's behavior. Trying to get with older men, and for what? To make their parents angry? Ruining their lives in the process, too. It confused, and worried them both.

Etsu and Keiko didn't have an interest in the two boys. But, they were going to change that. They weren't like the idiots who stood aside and watched as the girls they loved did whatever they wanted with other guys.

Love was a hard thing. Uhei was always dating other girls to make Keiko jealous. The mistake made during the pre-planning, was that Uhei never really gave thought to whether or not he would begin to enjoy his new adopted personality trait. He instantly fell into the womanizer category. With his dark green hair and golden eyes, it wasn't too hard, learning this new, "trade," making girls fall into his charming trap came naturally.

Seiji could have any girl that he wanted. He and Keiko have cherry red hair. Seiji has black eyes, while Keiko has brown orbs adorning her facial features. They both just so happen to be two of the best looking Japanese kids around, though, Seiji knows what he wants and won't settle for anything less. Keiko, like you already know, is a different story.

Etsu has sky-blue hair with sea-weed green, roots, and green eyes. She's just as pretty as Keiko. Sadly, her, "bestie," makes sure to hinder the development of her confidence. She feels threatened by her own friend.

"Guys? We're in Hokkaido, it's time to get off," Sunako stated while standing over their seats.

The four pre-teens quickly followed Sunako to the exit. And patiently waited for their luggage.

Soon, their luggage came around and they were riding the bus back to Sunako's house. Kyohei originally left his car at his house and met Sunako at the airport; she had also left her own car in her garage.

When they arrived, their eyes widened. In front of them stood a three story house, painted from roof to foundation, in black. The edges around the windows red. A black tiled pool to the far side of the house. A black hummer in her open, black, garage, and black gravel, making the driveway.

"Welcome to the Nakahara residence," Sunako proudly said.


End file.
